Wire tightener



Dec. 8,Y 1942. R, 5 BENBOW l y '2,304,139

' WIRE TIGHTENR Filed July 12, 1941 ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WIRE; TIGHTENER Robert S. Benbow, Benbow, Calif.

Application July 12, 1941, Serial No. 402,246

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to improvements in devices for tightening strands of wire fences.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device for the above purpose which may be used without previously releasing the wire to be tightened from its moorings.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device which may be operated by hand, which requires no special tools and which is capable of being operated at any point on the Wire without regard to the mooring elements of the wire.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device of this character which may be made from one piece of metal by simple punching `and pressing operations. r

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description in which a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 shows a section of a wire fence to which devices incorporating my invention have been applied; and

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a device incorporating my invention; and

Figure 3 is a cross section of the device as indicated by reference line 3-3 of Figure 2.

The device disclosed in the drawing includes a body I formed of suitable material such as cold rolled steel. It includes a spool or sheave like portion I I about which wire I2 may be Wound and a portion I3 having retaining means such as ratchet teeth I5 for engaging the leads of the wire.

Portion II as illustrated in Figure 3 is preferably sheave-shaped and presents a concave inner rim capable of holding several turns of wire. It is flared slightly so that the leads of a wrapped wire will remain relatively close to the face of body IU and engaged by the teeth I5.

To provide connection between a wire to be tightened and portion II, I have provided oppositely aligned slots Ida and Idb in which the wire I2 may be placed.

Portion I3 is preferably an annular rim formed integral with the periphery of body Ill and teeth I5 can be formed by a suitable pounding operation. The purpose of the ratchet teeth I5 is to engage and lock upon the leads of the wire to be tightened.

To use the device, a slack wire is rst engaged in slot Ma and then the device is rotated to wrap the wire about portion II. As the wire becomes taught the leads of the wire assume positions between teeth I5. During nal tightening the leads snap over the teeth.

Inv Figure l I have shown a portion of a fence to which several of my devices have been applied to tighten the loose strands. It will be noted that the device can be applied at any point desired, and that at `any subsequent time they can be turned to take up additional slack. In applying the device the moorings of the wire to the fence posts are not disturbed.

It will be understood that the size of the device may be varied for application to wire of different sizes. The diameter of body I0 should be suicient to facilitate turning without use of special tools, and excessive weight such as would weigh down the tightened wire should be avoided.

I claim:

1. In a Wire tightener. a generally circular body having formed thereon two concentric upstanding rims, the inner one of said rims forming a sheave adapted to receive and hold a wire to be tightened, said rim tapering from its outer edge inwardly to the edge adjacent said circular body, the other of said rims comprising ratchet teeth adapted to engage the wire, said ratchet teeth allowing free winding rotation of the sheave in one direction relative to the wire, and permitting rotation of the sheave in the opposite direction.

2. In a wire tightener adapted to be placed intermediate the moorings of a slack wire, a generally circular body having a sheave-like member about which wire may be wound, said sheave-like member tapering from its outer edge inwardly to the edge adjacent said circular body to urge the wound wire inwardly toward said circular body, and teeth adjacent the periphery of said body adapted to engage the wire to prevent the unwinding of said wire from said sheave-like member.

ROBERT S. BENBOW. 

